God at the Centre

Here is my article for the Parish Newsletter at St Martin-in-the-Fields this weekend:

One of the unique aspects of my role at both St Martin and St Stephen is the opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist from two artist-designed altars made from travertine marble; Shirazeh Houshiary and Pip Horne’s altar at St Martin and the Henry Moore altar at St Stephen.

The Moore altar, measuring 8ft across and weighing several tons, was at the centre of a controversy and court case as a result of objections and this, eventually, was resolved by going to the highest ecclesiastical court of the land, the Court of Ecclesiastical Cases Reserved where the judges ruled that the Moore altar was acceptable as an altar for the Church of England!

Moore’s altar, made of travertine marble cut from the very quarry which provided the marble for Michelangelo’s work, now stands at the centre of the church under Wren’s dome surrounded by dazzling kneelers by Patrick Heron. These commissions sensitively combine modern and baroque art and architecture contributing to the interplay of circles and squares, light and dark, in the space to create a stunning harmonization of old and new.

Moore’s design was intended for people to gather as a community around the altar where God can be found at the centre. God at the centre of our lives and communities; that is what the Christmas story and the carols we currently singing are all about. At Christmas we celebrate the belief that, in Jesus, God has moved into our neighbourhood, entered our world and come to be with us by becoming one of us. That is why Jesus was called Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

Jesus is the greatest gift that any of us can receive, both at Christmas and any other time in our lives, because by receiving him, we receive God himself.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Belle & Sebastian - O Little Town Of Bethlehem.